Engine control apparatus



Oct. 18, 1949. A. s. CHUDYK ENGINE -CONTROL APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1946 OPEN INVENTOR. flLEX 5. CIIUD YK Patented Oct. 18 1949 ENGINE coN'rnoL APPARATUS Alex B. Chudyk, St. Louis Park, Minn., assignor to Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application April 4, 1946, Serial No. 859,649

Crum, Serial No. 659,651, for Engine power control apparatus, filed April 4, 1946, there is described apparatus for controlling the power delivered by an aircraft engine in which by means of a single lever, it is possible to adjust the position of. the throttle, the compressing effect of the supercharger, and the setting of a propeller governor controlling the speed of the propeller. The present invention is particularly concerned with various features or the circuit connections employed in that apparatus and of the motor control systems employed therein.

An object 01' the present invention is to provide a pressure control system having auxiliary means for adjusting the pressure independently of a main pressure adjusting means during a predetermined portion of the movement of the main pressure adjusting means in which a novel means is provided for preventing said auxiliary pressure adjusting means from having any effect when said main adjusting means is moved beyond said predetermined portion of its range of movement.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such an arrangement in which the motor is controlled by an impedance network and in which upon the main controller reaching a predetermined point, a fixed voltage from the aux- '14 Claims. (Cl. 170-13534) 2 position, a voltage opposing the fixed voltage of the auxiliary control is connected into the circuit to permit manual movement of the throttle by the main controller without the effect of the voltage network.

A further object of the present invention is to provide in connection with pressure controlling apparatus for an engine, a main manual control for adjusting the pressure, a first adjusting means which is always effective to adjust the pressure, a second adjusting means which is disconnected when the main manual control is in the maximum pressure position, and a third adjusting means which is effective only when relatively low pressures are required, the three adjusting means providing for accurate calibration throughout a 1wide range of operation of the main manual conrol.

A further object of the present invention is to provide in connection with control apparatus for an aircraft having a propeller speed regulator and a throttle motor controlled by a voltage network in which a manual controller is provided for adjusting both the propeller speed regulator and the control point of the voltage network, means for adding a voltage to the network to run the throttle motor to open position independent of iliary controller is connected into the network in.

lieu of a normally variable voltage supplied by the auxiliary controller.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement such as set out in the previous objects in connection with an aircraft in which the main adjusting means also adjusts the propeller pitch.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such an arrangement in which the system is used with an aircraft having a throttle and a variable speed compressor and in which.

the manual means to provide for checkingthe operation of the propeller speed regulator.

A further object of the present invention is to provide in connection with a condition control system in which a valve controls the flow of a fluid aflecting the condition being controlled, a follow-up control system for the valve in which a follow-up device is non-linearly positioned in accordance with valve position to provide increasingly larger movements of the valve for a given change inthe'condition as the valve moves towards open position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement such as set out in the immediately preceding object in which the valve is a butterfly valve. I

'A still further object of the present invention is to provide a control system such as set out in the two preceding objects in which the control system is one for controlling the pressure of air supplied to an engine and in which the valve is a throttle controlling the flow of a fuel mixture Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral In is employed to indicate a radial aircraft engine having a plurality of radially disposed cylinders each connected to an intake manifold l2 and an exhaust manifold l3. Gas from the exhaust manifold I3 is conducted through an exhaust conduit H to an exhaust gas turbine I5 having a turbine wheel l6. A nozzle ring I! is adapted to discharge the exhaust gas in such a manner as to impinge the buckets of the turbine wheel IE to cause rotation of the latter. The conduit |4 terminates in a discharge duct or outlet l9 in which is located a damper-like valve commonly referred to as a waste gate. As the waste gate is opened, the gases may flow past it with less resistance than presented by the turbine so that the gases are by-passed around the nozzle ring and the operating speed of the turbine is reduced. As the waste gate 20 is closed, more and more of the exhaust gas is forced through the nozzle ring to increase the speed of the turbine.

The turbine I5 is connected through a gear box to a supercharger 26. The supercharger is of.

the centrifugal type in which the extent of compression of the air is varied in accordance with its speed and hence in accordance with the speed at which turbine I5 is driven. Air is drawn into the supercharger 26 through an air intake conduit 21. The compressed air is delivered through a conduit 28 to an intercooler 29. From the intercooler, the air is delivered through a carburetor intake duct 30 to a carburetor 3|, where the compressed air is mixed with fuel. The air then passes through a further supercharger 32 which is driven directly by the engine In. The air then flows through the intake manifold |2 to the various cylinders.

Referring'back to the intercooler 29, this comprises a means for removing the heat of compression from the air leaving the supercharger 26. The intercooler comprises a plurality of conduits 34 through which the air is passed and which are disposed in heat exchange relation with air introduced into a scoop 35 and passing through a conduit 38.

Referring to the carburetor 3|, the carburetor is entirely conventional and the only element thereof which is of importance as far as the present invention is concerned is the throttle 31 which is operatively connected to a bell crank 38 which upon being rotated in a clockwise direction moves the throttle towards open position. The throttle is shown in the drawing in substantially full closed position- The engine In drives a variable pitch propeller 40 having a plurality of blades 4| and 42. The pitch of these blades is controlled by a propeller governor 43 of conventional form. The propeller governor is provided with adjusting mechanism 44 including a pulley drum 45. A spring 48 is shown as extending between the fixed portion of the adjusting mechanism 44 and a point on the pulley drum such as to bias the drum to a position at which the propeller is set to maintain a speed desirable for cruising. This speed,

for example, may be between 1800 and 1900 R. P. M. This spring is normally located within the adjusting mechanism but is shown here as an external spring to simplify the illustration.

The apparatus described so far, in itself, forms no part of my invention; The apparatus of the present invention is concerned with controlling an airplane engine of the type just described. In general, I provide a coordinator unit 50, a. pilotscontrol panel 53, and a waste gate motor 4 54. The coordinator unit 50 is adjusted manually by means of a conventional throttle lever 5|, which may be positioned in the same location as the conventional airplane throttle lever. Upon actuation of this lever, the position of the throttle is directly varied and at the same time, the setting of a pressure responsive device 52 is varied. The pressure responsive device through an electrical network to be described, controls the operation of a throttle motor 53 which also positions the throttle. The pressure responsive mechanism 52 also controls through an electrical network, the waste gate motor 54 to position the waste gate 20. As will appear from the later description, the throttle motor 53 and the waste gate motor 54 are sequentially operated so that the throttle is gradually moved to open position and the waste gate is thereafter moved to closed position. The movement of lever 5| also serves to vary the setting of the propeller governor adjusting mechanism 44 to maintain a propeller speed corresponding to the selected manifold pressure. The pilot's control panel 53 broadly provides means for varying the manifold pressure for any given setting of the throttle lever 5| and for performing certain switching functions incidental to testing of the operation of the engine.

The various units of the control apparatus will now be described in more detail.

0 Referring to the coordinator 50, this comprises a central shaft 58 to which is secured an input crank arm 59. to thethrottle lever 5| by any suitable linkage. As illustrated, a link 6|! extends between the crank arm 59 and a downwardly extending arm of a bell crank lever 62. The bell crank lever 62 has a horizontally extending arm to which is secured a further link 53 which is pivotally cohnected to an arm 64 integral with the throttle lever 5|. It will be apparent thatas throttle lever 5| is moved in a clockwise direction, the shaft 58 is likewise moved in a clockwise direction as indicated by the arrows adjacent that shaft. The shaft 58 has secured to it a triangular crank arm 65 which cooperates with a link 66, the link 66 being in turn pivotally secured to a crank arm 61 secured to a shaft 68. Also secured to the shaft 58 are cams l2 and 13. The cam 12 is employed to adjust the propeller governor and will be referred t as the propeller governor cam. The cam 13 is employed to adjust the pressure controller 52 and will be referred to as the pressure controller cam. The exact details of the linkage 65, 66, 61, the mechanism actuated by link 61, of cams l2 and 13, and of the pressure governor 52 do not form any part of my invention. All of the above apparatus with the exception of the pressure controller 52 are described in.detail in the co-pending application of Stephen Crum for Engine power control apparatus, filed concurrently herewith. The details of the pressure controller are described and claimed in the co-pending application of Stephen Crum for Pressure responsive device, also filed concurrently herewith. For a more-detailed understanding of the operation and construction of the coordinator mechanism and of the pressure controller 52, reference is made to the aforesaid applications. This apparatus is, however, shown schematically in sufiicient detail in the present application for a complete understanding of my invention.

Referring to the mechanism including the triangular crank arm 65, this mechanism positions the shaft 38 to which the crank arm 61 is con- The crank arm 59 is connected desired.

The shaft 68 s also positioned by the throttle motor 58. This motor comprises a rotor 81 with which are associated field windings 88 and 89. The rotor 81 is connected through a reduction gear train 9| to a shaft 92 which is connected through a strain release clutch 94 to the shaft 88. The strain release clutch 94, which is shown in more detail in the aforesaid Crum application for "Engine power control apparatus is shown schematically here as consisting of two members 95 and 98 spring pressed into engagement with each other by a spring 91. The member 95 is provided with a cam surface having a depressed portion 98 into which a corresponding portion of member 98 moves. By reason of this depressed portion 98 in the 'cam surface of member 95, the members 95 and 95 tend to be held together in a fixed driving relationship with respect to each other. It will be obvious, however, that upon the torque tending to effect relative rotation of shafts 88 and 92 exceeding a predetermined value, relative movement of the shafts will occur by reason of member 96 sliding on shaft 88 and rotating with respect to member 95.

Secured to the shaft 92 is a slider 98 which cooperates with two resistors 99 and I00. The resistance value of resistor 99 is relatively large as compared with that of resistor I00.

Referring now to the trianguar crank arm 85, this crank arm carries two rollers IOI and I02. The roller I02 rides within a slot I03 of link 88, while the roller IOI cooperates with a curved cam surface I04 and a horn I05 of 'link 85. The parts are shown in the position they assume when the throttle lever 5| is in its minimum power position. As the throttle lever 5| is moved to the right to cause clockwise rotation of shaft 58, as previously explained, the roller |I bears against the horn I05, moving link 88 upwardly and rotating shaft 88 in a clockwise direction. The resultant clockwise movement of the throttle crank arm 80 will cause throttle 31 ot be moved towards open position. As the clockwise movement of shaft 58 continues, the roller IOI will ride outwardly on the horn I05. Just as the roller IOI leaves the horn I05, the roller I02 comes into engagement with the end of slot I 03. During the further clockwise rotation of shaft 58 and lever 55, the roller I02 remains in engagement with the upper end of slot I03 and transmits movement to link 88 by reason of such engagement. Upon reverse movement of the throttle lever and consequently of crank arm 58, assuming that the shaft 88 tends to remain in the position to which it has been moved, the roller I02 is moved into engagement with the lower end of the slot I03 and moves the link 86 by reason of such engagement. As this counter-clockwise rotation continues, roller IOI is brought into encurved cam surface to the position shown in tle motor 58 on shaft 88 will be described in more Operation.

detail in the section in the specification headed At this time it may be briefly pointed out, however, that during an intermediate range of positions of shaft 58, an appreciable amount of lost motion exists between triangular crank member 55 and the shaft 88. It is thus possible for the throttle motor 58 to variably position the throttle within this range of lost motion.

The propeller governor cam 12 is provided with a cam slot IIO. Disposed within this slot is a. roller III secured to crank arm II2 which in turn is secured to a shaft to which is rigidly secured a pulley drum II8. A cable H4 is looped over pulley II3-and pulley 45 of the propeller governing adjusting mechanism 44, the cable II4 passing over idler pulleys H5 and H8. The cam slot 0 extends inwardly from its right hand end, as shown in the drawing, towards the center of rotation of the cam, reaching the point closest to this center of rotation at point a. Thereafter, it diverges outwardly through a normal cruising point D to its left hand end (as viewed in the drawing). It will be apparent that as cam I2 is rotated in clockwise direction, the crank arm H2 is first rocked in a counter-clockwise direction until the roller III is adjacent point a. Thereafter, the crank arm H2 is rotated in a clockwise direction to the end of the range of movement of cam I2. The initial counter-clockwise movement of lever II 2 causes a corresponding movement of the pulley H3 and hence of pulley 45 of the adjusting mechanism for the propeller governor. This initial movement of pulley 45 in a clockwise direction will be against the efiect of spring 48.

As the rotation of cam 12 continues to cause the pulley I I I and the other end thereof secured to a support III, which may be adjustable. The support II! is so disposed with respect to roller I II and the axis of crank arm II2 that when the roller I I I is-adjacent point b of the cam slot I I0, the roller III, the pivot point of crank arrn H2, and the point of attachment of spring I I5 to support II1 lie in a straight line. Because of this disposition of spring II5, the spring II5 will tend to rotate the cam 12 until the roller I I I is adjacent point a. From there until the roller III reaches point 1;, the spring II5 will oppose movement of cam I2. At point b, the spring II5 will go over center and thereafter will assist in further clockwise motion of cam I2. It will be recalled that when the roller I II is'adjacent point D on cam 12, the pulley 45 is in the position to which it is biased by spring 48, this position corresponding to the normal optimum cruising speed. While the cam 12 is being rotated from the position shown to the position in which roller III is ad- 7 jacent point a, pulley 45 is being rotated in a counter-lockwise direction against the biasing action of spring 46. During this movement, the spring H is assisting in the rotation of cam 12. The spring II5 thus opposes the action of spring 40 and hence aids in the movement oi cam 12. While the roller I II is passing from point a to b, the pulley 45 is being rotated in a clockwise direction and is being assisted in such rotation by the spring 46. During the same movement, the spring H5 is opposing the movement of cam 12. Again, the two springs oppose each other so that the movement of cam 12 is relatively unaffected by the two springs. When the roller III is moving between point b and the left hand ,end of cam slot IIO, the spring 48 is opposing the movement of the pulley 45, while the spring II5, having passed over center, is aiding in the movement of cam 12. Thus, again the two springs oppose each other. The result thus, of the spring H5 is to oppose the biasing effect of spring 40 and to cause the movement of cam 12 to be relatively unafiected by this spring 48. If the cable II4 should accidentally be broken, spring 48 will be effective to automatlcally move the pulley 45 to the normal crusing speed in the manner which is old in such propeller governors. Thus, the spring II5 effectively counteracts the action of spring 48 as far as the action of the coordinator 50 is concerned without eliminating the usual desirable function of spring 48 in the event of a failure of the mechanism for positioning the pulley d5 of the propeller governor adjusting mechanism.

The pressure controller cam I3 is provided with a cam slot I25. Cooperating with this cam slot I is a roller E26 secured to a crank arm I21. The crank arm I21 is in turn secured to gear I28 which meshes with a second gear I29. Secured to gears I28 and I29 and rotatable therewith are spring supports I30 and I3I, respectively. The outer end of a spring I32 is secured to the outer end of spring support I30 while the outer end of a spring I33 is secured to the outer end of spring support I3I. The inner ends of springs I32 and I33 are secured to a yoke member I34 which is secured to a stem member I35. The stem member I35 is positioned by a bellows member I36 which is secured to the lower end of stem I35. Bellows member I36 is located within the housing I31. Surrounding the lowerportion of stem I35 and forming an air tight seal between the bellows I36 and the wall of the opening through housing I31 through which stem I35 extends, is a second bellows member I39. A conduit I40 extends between the bellows housing I31 and the intake manifold I2 and serves to cause intake manifold pressure to be applied to the exterior of bellows I36. The bellowsl33 not only serves as a sealing member but also serves to compensate the action of bellows I36 in accordance with changes in atmospheric pressure due to changes in altitude of the'aircraft on which the apparatus is installed. The function of bellows I39 in this respect will be discussed later;

The stem I35 is employed to position a wiper I of a potentiometer I46. Potentiometer I46 comprises, in addition to the wiper I45, a resistance member I41 with which the wiper slidably engages. Connected across the terminals of resistor I41 is a secondary I50 of a transformer I5I. The primary of the transformer is designated by the reference numeral I49. The network formed by transformer I5I and potentiomdetermined distance.

Stephen Crum, referred to above.

eter I44 is referred to generally by numeral I40. The wiper I45 is secured to a gear I52 which meshes with a rack I53 formed in the stem I35. It will be obvious that. downward movement of stem I35 will cause a clockwise movement of gear I52 and hence a clockwise movement of wiper I45 with respect to resistor I41. Conversely, an upward movement of stem I35 will cause a counter-clockwise movement of wiper I45. An increase in the manifold pressure causes bellows I36 to be compressed to cause stem I35 to move downwardly and cause such a clockwise movement. Thus, on an increase in manifold pressure, the wiper I45 is moved downwardly with respect to resistor I41 while upon a decrease in manifold pressure, the slider I45 is moved upwardly. The force'against which the manifold pressure acts is determined by springs I32 and I33 and a further calibrating spring I51. The spring I51 is fastened at its lower end to the upper end of stem I35 and at its upper end to a threaded spring retainer I58 which extends through a fixed support andis adiustably retained in place with respect to said support. For any given adjustment of spring retainer I58, the force exerted by calibrating spring I51 remains substantially constant for a given position of stem I35. The effect of springs I32 and I33 is, however, varied in accordance with the position of crank arm I21 which in turn, of course, is determined by the cam 13. As cam I3 is rotated, the radial distance of roller I 26 with respect to the center of rotation of cam 13 increases as it follows the cam slot I25. This causes a counter-clockwise rotation of the crank arm I 21. Such a counter-clockwise rotation of crank arm I21 causes the spring supports I30 and I3I to be rotated in a counter-clockwise and in a clockwise direction, respectively. In other words, the upper ends of the spring supports I30 and I3I are swung toward each other. This afiects the action of springs I32 and I33 in two ways. In the first place, as the outer ends of the springs are swung toward each other, the resultant of their force parallel to the axis of stem I35 is increased so that they exert an increasing effect upon stem I35 tending to move the same upwardly. At the same time; the effective spring rate is also increased. In other words, a much greater force is required to move the stem I35 through a pre- The effect of this operation is more fully described in the co-pending application on Pressure responsive device of The effect of this will also be discussed in more detail later in this application.

The position of stem I35 is also affected by a leaf spring member I60 which bears against the collar on stem I35 and has two arms adapted to lie in the path of spring supports I30 and I3I when the latter members are rotated apart to a predetermined position. Upon the spring supports I30 and I3I engaging the leaf spring member I60, further movement of the spring supports apart from each other forces the stem I35 downwardly by reason of the force directly exerted between the spring supports and the stem through the leaf spring I 60. The function of this is likewise discussed in more detail in the co-pending Crum application for Engine power control apparatus.

Also secured to the crank arm I21 is a cam I62 which cooperates with a slidable pin I63 constituting the actuator of a snap switch, shown schematically in the drawing as comprising a switch blade I84 biased into engagement with one fixed contact I85 and movable with a snap action into engagement with a second fixed contact' I88. The cam I82 is provided with a rise which begins at point I18 which is spaced from the point of contact with pin I83 shown in the drawing by an angle of approximately 45. Upon rotation of the crank arm I21 in a counterclockwise direction, the cam will be effective after approximately 45 degrees of movement to cause switch blade I84 to be moved with a snap action from engagement with contact I85 into engagement with contact I88.

Referring again to the throttle motor 53, the winding 88 is connected to two line wires I'll and I12 leading to a suitable source of alternating voltage such as an inverter (not shown). Line wire "I is connected to the upper terminal of winding 88 by a conductor I14, condenser I15. and conductor I18. Line wire I12 is connected to the lower terminal of winding 88 by a conductor I11. The condenser I15 functions to shift the phase of the current through field winding 88 by approximately 90". The other field winding 89 is connected to the output terminals of an amplifier I18. The amplifier is of any suitable type in which the phase of the output voltage is reversible with a reversal in the phase of the input voltage. A typical amplifier of this type is shown in the co-pending application of Albert P. Upton, Serial No. 437,561 (Patent No. 2,423,534), filed April 3, 1942. The power input terminals of the amplifier are connected by conductors I19 and I88 to line wires HI and I12, respectively. The amplifier is provided with two signal input terminals I81 and I82, the latter of which is connected to ground at I83. The input terminal I8I is connected by conductors I84 and I85 to the left terminal of resistor I88.

A transformer I81 is provided with a secondary winding I88 and a primary winding I49. The left hand terminal ofsecondary winding I88 is connected by conductor I98 to the left hand terminalof resistor 99. The left hand terminal of secondary I88 is also connected through resistor I92 of relatively high resistance value and conductors I93 and I84 to the input terminal I8I. The right hand terminal of secondary I88 is connected by conductor I98 to the right hand terminal of resistor I88. The right hand terminal of secondary I88 is also connected through a relatively high resistor I95 to ground at I98.

The transformer I81 together with slider 98 and resistors 99, I88, and I92 constitute a follow-up network referred to generally by the numeral I98. The function of this network will be discussed .later. It will be noted that in referring to the primary of transformer I81, the same reference numeral was employed as in connection with transformer I5I. In actual practice, a number of the secondary windings employed in this apparatus can form part of the same transformer. In any event, since the apparatus depends upon the proper phase relationship between the various voltages, it is essential that they all be. connected to the same power source. To illustrate this, the same reference character is being applied to the primaries of all of the various transformers, it being understood that if desired, these various transformers may be combined into a relatively small number of transformers. They are shown as separate transformers in the illustration merely for convenience in illustration.

The waste gate motor assembly 54 comprises a motor 288 having a rotor 2III and field windings 282 and 298. Winding 282 is the line winding of motor 288 and is connected to line wires HI and I12 by conductors 284, 285, and 288 and by a condenser 281. Like condenser I15 in connection with motor 53, condenser 281 is effective to shift the phase of the current supplied to winding 282 by 90. The winding 283 is connected by conductors 289 and 2 I8 to the outputterminals of an amplifier 2I I. This amplifier may be similar in general construction to amplifier I18. In fact, the two amplifiers may form two portions of a two gang amplifier. The power input terminals of the amplifier are connected by conductors 2I2 and 2 I3 to the line wires "I and I12. The amplifier 2 is provided with two input terminals 2 and 2I5. The 1 latter terminal is grounded at 2 I8.

The motor 288 is operatively connected through a gear train 2" to a shaft 2| 8. Secured to the shaft 2I8 is a crank arm 225. This crank arm is connected by a link 228 to the waste gate 28. It will be apparent that clockwise movement of crank arm 225 is effective to move waste gate 28 towards closed position and, conversely, counterclockwise movement of crank arm 225 causes an opening movement of waste gate 28. Stops are provided to limit themovement of crank arm 225, the stop limiting the opening movement being indicated by numeral 223. v

An air turbine 238 is also associated with the waste gate motor 54. This turbine is supplied with air from the discharge conduit 28 of compressor 28 under the control .of a pressure relief valve 231 connected on its inlet side to the conduit 28 and connected on its outlet side to the air turbine 238. Also associated with the crank arm 225 is a stop arm 224 biased in waste gate closing direction. The movement of the stop arm is limited by a pin 224a which is efiective to prevent the arm 224a from biasing the crank arm 222 beyond a partially closed position of the waste gate 28. The structure of this stop arm 224, the air turbine 238, and the pressure relief valve 231 are more fully disclosed in the co-pending application of Stephen Crum, Serial No. 658,360, for Pressure control apparatus, filed March 29, 1946. The operation of this apparatus is also discussed in that application and will be briefly referred to later in this specification.

Also secured to shaft 2i 8 is a slider 2I9 which cooperates with a resistor 222 of a follow-up po tentiometer 22I. The slider 2I9 is connected by conductor 242 to the input terminal 2I4.

A transformer 233 comprises a primary I49, and a secondary winding 234, this secondary winding being provided with two taps 235 and 236. The resistor 222 is connected across the right hand portion of secondary 234 between the right hand end thereof and tap 238.

The left hand portion of secondary winding 234 between the left hand thereof and tap 235 is connected across a resistor 221 forming a portion of overspeed potentiometer 228. The overspeed potentiometer 228 comprises a wiper 229 which moves over resistor 221. At one end of the resistor 221, there'is a conductive bar 238 with which the wiper 229 is normally in engagement. An overspeed controller 248 is connected by a shaft 2 to the gear box 25 so as to be driven at a speed dependent upon the speed of the turbine I5. The apparatus 248 is designed so that whenever the speed exceedsa predetermined value, the wiper 229 is moved to the left as long as the speed remains above that value.

ll the patent to Daniel G. Taylor, No. 2,388,350, issued November 6, 1945. The transformer 233 and the potentiometers 22I and 228 together constltute a rebalancing and overspeed network referred to generally by numeral 23I.

The pilot's control unit 53' will now be described. This unit generally consists of a plurality of networks including manually adjustable resistors which are used for calibration and for selection of manifold pressures which are different from those automatically obtained by the manipulation of the throttle. The networks are generally referred to by the reference numerals 239a, 239b, 248a, 248b, 24Ia, 24), 243, and 244. The control panel is shown as designed for use in connection with a two engine airplane although it can obviously be employed, by duplicating certain elements, with an airplane having any number of engines. The networks 239a, 248a, and 24Ia are associated with the control mechanism of the engine illustrated in the drawing. The identical networks 239b, 248b, and 24Ib are adapted to be connected into the compound network of a control apparatus for another engine of the same airplane. The bridges 243 and 244 are provided for making simultaneous adjustment of the operation of all of the engines.

Network 239a comprises 'a potentiometer 246 consisting of a resistor 241 over which moves a manually positioned wiper 248. A transformer 258 comprises a primary winding I49 and a secondary winding 25I, the opposite terminals of the secondary winding being connected to the opposite terminals of resistor 241.

A push button switch 255a is interposed between bridges 239a and 248a. This switch comprises a movable switch blade 256 biased into en- I gagement with and bridging a pair of fixed contacts 251 and 258. Upon actuation of the push button, the blade 256 is moved from engagement with contacts 251 and 258 into engagement with a second pair of fixed contacts 259 and 268.

The network 248a consists of a transformer 262 and a potentiometer 263. The transformer 262 comprises a primary I49 and a secondary winding 264. The potentiometer 263 consists of a resistor 266 over which moves a wiper 261. The opposite terminals of resistor 266. are connected between the lower terminal of secondary 264 and an intermediate tap 268.

Network 24Ia consists of a transformer 218 and a potentiometer 212. The transformer 218 consists of a primary winding I49 and a secondary winding 213. The potentiometer 212 consists of a manually positioned wiper 214 which moves over a resistor 215, the opposite terminals of which are connected to the opposite terminals of secondary 213 of transformer 218. Since the networks 239b, 248b, and 24Ib are identical to the networks 239a, 248a, and 24Ia, it is believed unnecessary to describe these latter networks in detail. Similarly, the switch 255b connected between networks 2391) and 24% is identical to switch 255a and hence also need not be described.

The network 243 includes a transformer 215 having a primary winding I49 and a secondary winding 216. Connected across the terminals of secondary 216 is a resistor 211,, also constituting part of the network 243. A slider 218 moves over resistor 211 and a bar 219 of high conductivity which constitutes a continuation of resistor 0 terminals and the amplifier.

it remains at the same potential as the uppei end of secondary 216.

The network 244 consists of a transformer 288 and a potentiometer having a resistor 28I. The transformer 288 consists of a primary winding I49 and a secondary winding 282. The secondary winding 282 has a plurality of taps 283 and 284. The resistor 28I is connected between the upper terminal of secondary 282 and the tap 284. A bar 286 of high conductivity is connected to the end of resistor 28I beyond the point to which it is connected to tap 284. A wiper 281 moves over resistor 28I and conductive bar 286. The two wipers 218 and 281 are connected together physically so as to move in unison, although being electrically separated by insulating material 289. While the two sliders 218 and 281 are being moved through the range of movement in which slider 218 contacts resistor 211 (the normal control range), the slider 281 is moving over the conductive bar 286 and remaining at the potential of tap 284.

A switch 298 is associated with the network 244. This switch, which will be referred to later as an engine check switch. comprises a switch blade 29I biased into engagement with a fixed con-tact 292. The switch blade 29I is actuated by a push button and is movable into engagement with a second fixed contact 293. The contact 292 is connected to the slider 281 while the contact 293 is connected to the lower end of secondary 282. The switch blade 29I is connected to ground at 295.

OPERATION Operation of control networks Before proceeding with the'des'cription of the entire system, the operation of the control networks for motors 53 and 288 will first be described.

As previously explained, the winding 88 of throttle motor 63 is connected through a condenser to line wires HI and I12. The other winding of the motor is connected to the amplifier I 18. Due to the condenser I15, the current through winding 88 is displaced 90 degrees from the phase position which it would otherwise assume. The amplifier I 18 is adapted, depending upon the phase of the signal voltage supplied to it to supply current to winding 89 which is either 90 degrees behind or 90 degrees ahead of the current supplied to winding 88. The input signal voltage supplied to amplifier I18 is'determined by a plurality of networks connected in series with the input terminals, all of which have been briefly described. Proceeding from the input terminal I8I a circuit can be traced as follows: through conductor I84, the throttle motor rebalancing network I98, conductor 588, network 248a, conductor 58I, switch 255a, conductors 582 and 583, network 239a, conductor 584, pressure responsive network I48, conductor 585, switch blade I64, contact I65, conductor 586, network 24Ia, conductors 581 and 588, network 243, conductor 589, network 244 and conductor 5I8, switch contact 292, switch blade 29I and ground connections 295 and I83 back to the other signal input terminal I82. All of these various networks are connected in series between the input It will be noted thus, the voltage applied to the amplifier is equal to the algebraic sum of the voltage outputs of these various networks. ance, the total voltages are equal to zero so that no input voltage is applied to the amplifier and In a condition of balhence no currentis supplied to the amplifier winding 88 of the motor 58. The various transformers forming units of the several networks have such a phase relation with respect to each other that during any given halfcycle, the polarity of the lower ends of all the vertically disposed secondaries with respect to their upper ends is exactly the same as that of the left hand ends of all the horizontally disposed secondaries with respect to their right hand ends. To understand the voltages appearing across the various networks, let the conditions be considered during which the lower terminals of all vertically disposed secondaries are positive with respect to their upper ends and the left hand terminals of all the horizontally disposed secondaries are positive with respect to their right hand ends.

. Considering first the follow-up network I88, it

will be noticed that conductor I84 is-connected through conductor I85, slider 88 and conductor I88 to the left hand terminal of secondary I88. This left hand terminal of secondary I88 constitutes one of the output terminals of the network, to which conductor 588 leading to network 248 is connected. Thus, no voltage whatsoever appears between conductors I84 and 588.

Considering now the network 248, it will be noted that the slider 261 occupies a position substantially corresponding to the position of a tap 268 of secondary 264 to which conductor 588 leads. Thus, the slider 261 is at the same electrical potential as tap 268 so that no voltage is introduced by network 248.

Considering the next network 288a, it will be noticed that the conductor 588 extending to the network is connected to the positive terminal of secondary 258 (still considering the conditions during a given half cycle). The slider 248 is,'on the other hand-positioned half way along the resistor 241. Thus, the conductor 588 is at a positive potential with respect to conductor 584.

The conductor 584 is in turn connected to the lower terminal of secondary I58 of network I48 while conductor 585 leading from network I48 is connected to the slider I45 which is at the bottom of resistor I41. Thus, no voltage is introduced by network I48.

Proceeding through conductor 585, switch blade I64, contact I65 and conductor 586, the next network in the group of series connected networks is network 24Ia. In the case of this network, conductor 586 is connected to slider 214 which is considerably negative with respect to the lower terminal of secondary 213 to which conductor 581 is connected. Thus, the effect of network 218 is to introduce a voltage tending to render conductor 586 negative with respect to conductor 581. It will be noted that the polarity of this voltage is opposite to that of the voltage introduced by network 239a. The voltages applied to these respective networks are such that the voltage introduced by network 24Ia is exactly equal and opposite to the voltage introduced by network 238a. Thus considering all of the networks so far, the conductor 581 is at exactly the same potential as conductor I84 connected to the amplifier terminal I8I.

Proceeding further through the compound network formed by the group of series connected networks, conductor 581 is connected through conductor 588 to the upper terminal of secondary 216.

The slider 218 is shown in a position at which it is at the same potential as the upper terminal by network 248. The slider 218 is connected through conductor 588 to the lower or positive input terminals I8I and I82 of amplifier I18 have of secondary 216 so that no voltage is introduced a total effective value of zero. Under these conditions, no current is supplied to amplifier 88 so that motor 58 remains stationary.

Still considering the conditions during the same half cycle, let it be assumed that stem I88 moves upward due either to the manifold pressure within housing I81 dropping or to the spring supports I88 and I8I being rotated upward and together to increase the spring tension exerted by springs I82 and I88 on stem I85. The effect of such upward movement of stem I will be to cause an upward movement of slider I45 with respect to the resistor I41. This will result in slider I45 becoming negative with respect to the lower terminal of secondary I58 and hence with respect to conductor 584. The effect of this upon the voltage applied between; terminals I8I and I82 will be to cause terminal I8I to become positive with respect to terminal I82. In terms of alternating current, this will mean'that a current of a predetermined phase is supplied to .input terminals I8I and I82 and hence to the motor winding 88. The operation of the'motor 58 will be in a direction to cause clockwise rotation of shaft 82 and, if permitted by the link 66, clockwise rotation of throttle lever 88 to move the throttle towards open position. Such opening movement is, of course, desirable, either where the manifold pressure has dropped or where the springs I82 and I88 have been adjusted to call for a higher manifold pressure.

The movement of shaft 82 in a clockwise direction causes clockwise movement of wiper arm 88 with respect to resistors 88} and I88. This will cause conductor I85 to assume a potential negative with respect to the left hand terminal of secondary I88. The eilect of this is to oppose the unbalance voltage introduced by the reason of the upward movement of slider I45. At the same time, the increase in manifold pressure causes slider I45 to move downwardly. After a predetermined movement of slider 88, the voltage introduced by network I 88 will be equal and opposite to the reduced unbalance voltage so that the input voltage to the amplifier will againbe zero.

At this time, the operation of the follow-up network I88 will be described. The conductor I84 leading from the amplifier I8I to one of the output terminals of the bridge is connected through the left hand portion of resistor I88 to wiper 88 and is at substantially the same potential as the wiper. Wiper 88 contacts both resistors 88 and I88 and electrically connects the same across the terminals of secondary I88 in a circuit which may be traced as follows: from the right hand terminal of secondary I88, through conductor I86, the right hand portion of resistor I88, slider 88, the left hand portion of resistor 88 and conductor I88 to the left handterminal of secondary I88. The potential of conductor I85 with reference to the left hand terminal of secondary I88 and hence conductor 588 is thus determined by the ratio between the portion of resistance I88 to 1s the right of slider 98 and the portion of resistance 99 to the left of the slider. As slider 98 moves to the right, its potential with respect to the left hand terminal of secondary I88 is thus increased. If'both resistors 99 and I99 were of the same resistance value, the change in potential would be linear. Due, however, to the fact that resistor I99 has a considerably lower resistance value than resistor 99, the change in potential becomes increasingly less as the slider 98 moves to the right.

This will be apparent when it is considered that a change in the position of slider 98 not -only changes the relative proportions of the resistance on the right and left hand sides of the slider between the terminals of secondary I88 but also increases the total resistance between the terminals of the secondary. In a typical installation, the resistors 99 and I99 were 700 and300 ohms respectively. With the slider 98 in the position shown, the resistance between the opposite terand left hand sides but also by reason of the u changing voltage drops due to current flow. The net effect is that as slider 98 moves to the right, the change in voltage becomes increasingly less. The values of resistors 99 and I99 are so selected with respect to the voltage of secondary I88 as to produce a non-linear effect corresponding to the non-linear effect on flow resulting from a uniform angular opening of a butterfly valve such as throttle 31. With'such a valve as throttle 31, the initial opening movement of the valve produces a rapid change in the flow while as the valve approaches open position, the change in flow of a uniform angular change becomes in- 'creasingly less. With my improved network I98, the voltage introduced into the amplifier network becomes increasingly less as the throttle is moved towards open position. Thus, during the initial opening movement of the valve, only a very slight change in valve position produces a voltage sumcient to balance a signal of predetermined 1 time, it may be briefly pointed out that adjustment of any of these sliders will produce a variation in the position of the throttle maintained for a given position of theslider I45 of the pressure responsive apparatus.

Referring now to the waste gate motor 299, the winding 292 is, as previously pointed out, connected through the condenser 291 to the line wires Ill and I12. This winding is thus constantly energized with the current displaced in phase 90 degrees with respect to what its phase position otherwise would be. The winding 293'is connected to the output terminal of an amplifier 2H and is energized with.current which either leads or lags the current through winding 292 by 90 degrees, depending upon the phase of the voltage applied between the input terminals 2| 4 and 2I5 of amplifier 2| I. This voltage is determined by a second compound network which includes a plurality of networks some of which are common to the throttle motor compound network previously traced and others of which are present only in the waste gate network. Proceeding from input terminal 2 I4, this compound network may be traced as follows: through conductor 242, the re-' balancing and overspeed network 23I conductors 5I5, 593, network239a, conductor 594, pressure responsive network I49, conductor 595, switch blade I64, contact I 65, conductor 596, network 24I a, conductor 591, network 243, conductor 599,

strength while during the later stages of movement of the valve, an appreciable movement of the valve is necessary to produce the necessary balancing voltage.

In the operation above, the eifectof movement of the pressure controller arm I45 upwardly was considered. It would, of course, be obvious that a downward movement of the arm has the opposite effect upon the'polarity. of the voltage applied between terminals I8I and I82 and hence causes the current to be supplied to'winding 89 which is opposite in phase to that considered before. This will cause opposite rotation of the motor '53 to move the throttle 31 towards closed position. Atthe same time, the slider 98 is moved in the opposite direction to supply an opposite rebalancing voltage to the network. Thus, considering only the operation of the pressure controller 52 the effect of a change in either the manifold pressure or in the setting of the controller is to cause a change in the position of the throttle 31 of a magnitude sufficient to produce a change in flow proportional to the change in manifold pressure or to the change in spring tension of stem I35. The operation of this pressure network 244, conductor 5I9, switch 299, and ground connections 295 and 2 I9 back to the other input terminal 2I5.- It will be noted that the compound network just traced included the network 239a and the pressure responsive network I48, previously considered. The pressure controller 52 thus controls not only the throttle motor 53 but also the waste gate motor 299. As

will be clear from the later description, upon a continued demand for increased manifold pressure, the throttle motor is first moved to open position, and thereafter the waste gate is moved towards closed position. L,

As with the various networks of the throttle motor compound network, the polarities of the left terminals of the horizontally disposed secondaries are always the same with respect to the right terminals of the secondaries as those of the lower terminals of the vertically disposed secondaries with respect to their upper terminals. Considering now the conditions existing during a half cycle in which the left hand terminals of all of the secondaries and the lower terminals of all of the secondaries are positive and proceeding from input terminal 2I4 through conductor 242, it' will be noted that slider 2I9 is at the extreme left hand end of resistor 229 so that the conductor 242 is at the same potential as tap 236. Similarly, slider 229 is at the right hand end of resistor 221 to be at the same potential as tap 235. Thus, conductor 242 is negative with respect to conductor 5I'5 by the amount of the voltage existing between taps 235 and 236. The conductor 5I5 is in turn connected through conductor 593 to the lower terminal of secondary 25I of network 239a. It will be noted that the slider 248 is negative with respect to the lower terminal of secondary 25| so that conductor 593 tends to be rendered positive with respect to slider 248 and hence with respect to conductor 604. The voltage introduced by network 239a thus opposes that introduced by network 23 I. In actual practice in a typical installation, the voltage introduced by network 239a is greater than that between taps 235 and 236 and hence introduced by network 23L Hence, .the conductor 242 connected to input terminal 2I4' is positive with respect to conductor 504.

Proceeding now to the network I48, the slider 505 is at the lower end of resistor I41 so that the potential introduced thereby is negligible. From slider I45, the circuit proceeds through conductor 505, switch I64, contact I65 and conductor 506 to the network 24Ia. The slider 214 is negative with respect to the lower end of secondary 213 to which conductor 501 is connected. Thus,

the voltage introduced by network 24Ia opposes that introduced by 239a and aids that introduced by network 23I. In the typical installation referred to above, with the sliders in the position shown, the voltage introduced by network 24Ia exactly balances that introduced by network 239a so that conductor 501 is at a positive potential with respect to conductor 242 by a voltage corresponding to the voltage existing between taps 235 and 236.

Proceeding from network 24Ia, the circuit extends through conductors 501, 508, network 243, conductor 509, network 244, switch 290 and ground connections 295 and 2I6 to the other input terminals. It will be recalled that no voltage exists across the output terminals of either networks 243 or 244. Hence, ground connections 295 and 2I6 are at the same potential as conductor 508, which it will be recalled is positive with respect to conductor 23I connected to the terminal 2I4. In other words, terminal 2I4 is negative with respect to terminal 2I5. The effect of this voltage on the amplifier 2 is to cause current to be supplied to motor winding 203 of such a phase as to cause rotation of motor 200 in a direction to move the waste gate towards open position. The waste gate is already in open position and the crank arm 222 is prevented from further opening movement by stop 223. A suitable slip clutch (not shown) is provided between the motor and crank arm 222 to prevent injuryof this motor under these conditions.

If under the conditions just considered, the manifold pressure drops sufiiciently or the setting of the pressure controller is raised sufiiciently to cause an upward movement of slider I45 to a point with respect to resistor I41 in which the voltage between the slider I45 and the lower terminal of secondary I50 exceeds the voltage between tap 235 and 236, the terminal 2I4 will no longer be negative with respect to terminal 2I5 during the conductive half cycle being considered. The phase of the current supplied to winding 203 will then be reversed and the motor will rotate in a direction to cause closing movement of the waste gate 20. This will cause movement of slider 2I9 to the right to introduce into the series connected networks a voltage opposing the unbalance voltage introduced bythe pressure responsive network I48. The closing of the waste gate will increase the manifold pressure to decrease the voltage across network I48 and hence reduce the unbalance voltage. After a predetermined movement of the waste gate, this rebalancing voltage will equal the reduced unbalance voltage and the series of networks will again be rebalanced to cause deenergization of the motor 200. This operation of the waste gate motor does not normally occur, however, until the throttle motor has moved to a position at which the throttle is substantially open.

The operation of some of the controllers of the pilot's control unit 58 will'now be considered. The networks 243 and 244 are employed to vary the manifold pressure for the two engines being controlled. For'the present,- the eiIect on only the illustrated engine will be considered. These two networks constitute what may be referred to as the manifold pressure selector. The sliders 218 and 281 are normally moved through a range of movement which carries the slider 218 over the full length of the resistor 211. The range of movement during which slider 281 moves over resistor 28I is employed only in emergency conditions where extremely high manifold pressures are desired. This range of movement provides manifold pressure which cannot be maintained for long periods of time without severe damage to the engine.

Considering the operation during the half cycle which has been used for illustrative purposes throughout the specification, that is in which the lower ends and the left hand ends of all seeondaries are positive with respect to their opposite ends, a movement of slider 218 downwardly with respect to resistor 211 will cause conductor 508 to become negative with respect to slider 218. Since the slider 218 is connected to ground through conductor 509, slider 281, conductor 5I0 and switch 290, it will be obvious that the effect of causing conductor 508 to become negative with respect to slider 218 is to cause the ungrounded input terminals Ill and 2 of amplifiers I18 and 2 respectively to become less positive or more negative with respect to the grounded terminals I82 and 2I5 respectively than was previously the case. It will be recalled from the operation described above, that in the case of either amplifier I18 or 2I I, a change of the polarity of the ungrounded input terminal in the negative direction tended to produce a movement of the control device positioned by the associated motor in a direction to decrease the manifold pressure. That is,

. in the case of the throttle motor 53, the amplifier I18tended to so energize the throttle motor as to cause it to move the throttle towards closed position. Similarly, in the case of the waste gate motor 200, the effect of changing the polarity of the ungrounded input terminal 2I4 in a negative direction with respect to the grounded terminal is to cause the motor 200 to be energized in a direc-- 28 I the conductor 509 which is connected between resistor 28I and a conductor bar 286 becomes positive with respect to slider 281 which is connected to groundyas previously explained. Thus, the efiect of movement of slider 281 from the position shown is to increase the polarity of ungroundecl input terminals I8I and 2M in a posi tive direction with respect to the grounded terminals of the respective amplifiers. This tends amplifier.

can be maintained with safety for any apprei ciable period of time.

The networks 24Ia and 24Ib are provided for individually adjusting the manifold pressure of the two engines. Both conductor 501 leading from network 24Ia and conductor 501b leading from network 24Ib are connected to the networks 243 and 244 so that, as previously explained, the adjustment of the latter two networks controls the effect of both engines. Considering the network 24Ia which is associated with the engine illustrated in the drawing, it will be apparent that a movement of slider 214 upwardly tends to cause conductor 506 connected to the slider to become more highly negative with respect to conductor 501. This causes change of the polarities of the ungrounded input terminals I8I and 204 of the two amplifiers in a negative direction with respect to the ungrounded terminals so as to cause a reduction of manifold pressure. Similarly, a movement of slider 214 downwardly with respect to resistor 215 increases the potential of input terminals I8I and 204 in a positive direction and causes the manifold pressure torise. Thus, the adjutment of the slider 214 causes the manifold pressure to be adjusted independently of the setting of the lever The potentiometer 212 is thus employed to individually adjust the manifold pressure of. the engine shown independently of the position of throttle lever 5| and is referred to as a manifold pressure vernier potentiometer.

Proceeding back to the positive terminals of the amplifiers, conductor506 leading from the slider 214 of the manifold pressure vernier extends throughcontact I65 and switch blade I64 to the pressure responsive network, the operation of which has previously been considered. From this network, a conductor 504 leads to the network 239a. Considering the operation of the potentiometer 246 of this network, it will be apparent that a movement of slider 248 upwardly causes the ungrounded input terminals of the two amplifiers to become more positive with respect to the grounded input terminals and hence to cause the manifold pressure to be increased. Conversely, a downward movement of slider 248 causes a decrease in manifold pressure. The potentiometer 246 thus is similar to potentiometer 212 in that it individually adjusts the manifold pressure for the particular engine with which itis associated. The purpose of providing both networks 239a and 24Ia is to provide for independent calibration of the system at different positions of the throttle lever 5|. The network 239a is employed for calibration purposes when the lever 5| is in the position assumed when the airplane is taking ofi or what may be referred to as the military power position. The potentiometer 246 is thus referred to as the military power calibrator.

The networks 243, 244, 24Ia and 239a, together with the pressure responsive network I48 are all common to the series of networks associated with the throttle motor amplifier and with the series of networks associated with the waste gate motor The remaining neworks to be considered are associated only with one or the other of these amplifiers.

Considering first those associated with the throttle motor amplifier I18, the network 240a is normally employed for varying the relative position between the throttle and waste gate for any given setting of the other controls. It slider 261 of potentiometer 263 of this network is moved up. the effect will be to increase in a positive direction the potential of input terminal I8I of amplifier I18 with respect to the grounded input terminal I82. In other words, with slider 281 in the position shown, no voltage is introduced into the throttle motor amplifier series of networks, as previously explained. With the slider 261 moved up, however. the potential of conductor 500 and hence of input terminal I8I is increased in the positive direction. As previously explained, such movement tends to cause an opening movement of the throttle. Obviously, downward movement of slider 261 causes a closing movement of the throttle. It is also to be noted that since this network is not connected in series with the input terminals of the'waste gate motor amplifier, the setting of this slider has no effect whatsoever on the waste gate. Thus, by moving slider 261 the relative positions of the throttle and waste gate can be changed. It is often desirable to have the waste gate partly closed even when the throttle is not fully open in order to utilize the heat of compression for heating the carburetor. Furthermore, the adjustment provided by potentiometer 263 makes it possible to calibrate the system when the lever 5| is in cruising position, .as will be explained in more detail later. For this reason,

this potentiometer may be referred to as the cruise calibrator.

The series of networks for the throttle motor amplifier I18 also includes the follow-up network I98, previously discussed. It is not believed that any further discussion of this network is necessary at the present time.

Considering now the series of networks connected to the waste gate amplifier, the operation of the network 25 has been described so far as the action of follow-up potentiometer MI is concerned. Considering now the overspeed potentiometer 228, the wiper 229 is, as previously stated, normally in the extreme right hand position shown in the drawing. Upon the occurrence of an overspeed condition, however, the overspeed controller 240 is operative to move the wiper 228 to the left. Such movement to the left tends to cause conductor 242 to be more negativ with respect to conductor 5I5. Thus, the polarity of input terminal 2I4 of amplifier 2 is made more negative with respect to grounded terminal 2I5, or if the terminal is already positive with respect to terminal 2 I5, is made less positive. The result is that the motor 200 tends to rotate the waste gate in open direction to reduce the speed of the turbine. Since the purpose of the overspeed controller 240 is to prevent an excessive speed of the turbo supercharger, it is obviously unnecessary to have this control affect the throttle motor.

With the above explanation of the normal operation of the throttle motor 53 and the waste gate motor 200 in mind, it is now possible to explain broadly the normal operation of the system. Various checking features are provided and for the present, these will be ignored.

Operation of entire system With the elements in the position shown, the throttle is completely closed and the waste gate is wide open. The throttle lever II. has been moved to its extreme minimum power-position which is at the lower end of what may b referred to as the Idle range." Assuming the plane to be on the ground, in order to start the engine it is necessary to slightly open the throttle. This is done by a slight movement of lever in a clockwise direction. Such clockwise movement of the lever 5I causes a clockwise movement of shaft 58' and a clockwise movement of crank arm 65 to in turn cause a clockwise movement of shaft 68 and throttle crank arm 80, all as previously explained. Such movement of the throttle crank arm 80 causes the throttle 81 to be moved towards open position. The clockwise rotation of shaft 58 also causes a clockwise rotation of cams 12 and 13. The slight clockwise rotation of cam 12 causes a slight movement of the propeller governor pulley 45 in a counterclockwise direction to decrease the propeller speed.

in which they extend substantially vertically so as to exert their maximum effort upon the stem I85.

The rotation of the crank arm I21 by the cam 13 also results in cam I62 being rotated to a position in-which the pin I63 is moved to the right by the cam to cause switch arm I64 to move from engagement with contact I65 into engagement with contact I66. The effect of this switch is to remove networks 2 Ia and 243 from the connections to both the th ottle motor amplifier I18 and the waste gate motbr amplifier 2. The range The movement of cam 13 in a clockwise dlrection causes a counter-clockwise rotation of crank arm I21 to swing the spring supports I' and I3I the leaf spring 60 so that there is no longer a relatively rigid mechanical connection between the crank arm I21 and thestem I85. As the same time, the tension exerted by springs I82 and I38 on the stem I is increased so as to tend to cause an upward movement of stem I35. This, as previously explained, causes an upward movement of slider I with respect to resistor I41. Such an upward movement tends to cause the throttle motor 53 to be energized in a direction to drive the shaft 82 in throttle opening direc-.- tion. Since it is normally desirable to have manual control of the throttle at this time, the slider 218 of the manifold pressure selector is moved downwardlywith respect to resistor 211 before throttle lever 5| is moved towards open position. Thus despite the movement of the slider I45 of the pressure responsive network, the throttle motor will still remain deenergized, or

energized in a throttle closing direction. In such of the present invention. These various checks.

will be referred to later. Assuming that the engine has been properly warmed up and that the ship is readyfor the take-off, the slider 218 of the manifold pressure selector is set to the'normal position, which is substantially that shown in the drawing. The throttle lever II is then moved to their extreme right hand position, which may be referred to as the military power or take-off position. Such movement results in sufllcient manual clockwise rotation of shaft 68 to cause the throttles to be moved to their wide open position. At the same time, the propeller governor 12 is rotated to a point at which roller III is at the end of the cam slot I I0 opposite to that in which it is shown in the drawing. At this setting, the propeller governor calls for take-off speed.

This movement of the throttle lever H to its extreme right hand position also causes the pressure controller cam 13 to be rotated to a position within which the cam I62 is effective to hold switch I64 in engagement with contact I66 is the military power or take-off range. During this range 'of powers, it is highly essential that the power be limited essentially. to that selected by the throttle lever 5I. If the power under these conditions can be effected by the networks 24Ia and 243, a previous faulty adjustment of these networks may result in inadequate or excessive power during take-off conditions or at other times when military power is needed. When switch blade I64 is moved into engagement with contact I66, the inputcircuit to amplifier I18 becomes as follows: from input terminal I'8I through conductor I84, follow-up network I88, conductor 500, network 2400., conductor I, contact 258, switch blade 256, contact 25I, conductors 502 and 503, network 2390, conductor 504, pressure responsive network I48, conductor 505, switch blade I64, contact I66, conductors 520 and 52!, that portion of secondary 282 of network 244 between taps 283 and 284, slider 281, conductor 5I0, switch 290 and ground connections 295 and I83 to the inputterminal of the amplifier I18. lit is to be noted that the circuit just traced does not include the manifold pressure vernier potentiometer 212; or either of the manifold pressure selector networks 243 and 244, with the sole exception of a fixed portion of the network 244. The voltage between taps 283 and 284, in one particular embodiment of the invention, corresponds substantially to the voltage between slider 214 and the lower end of secondary 213 of network 24Ia, when the slider 2-14 is in the position shown. Thus, the portion of secondary 282 between taps 283 and 284 introduces into the system a voltage substantially the same as introduced by network 24Ia when the elements are in the position shown. This voltage is one which gvies a normally desirable manifold pressure, since original calibration was made with it in the circui The movement of switch I64 from engagement with contact I65 into engagement with contact I66 also alters the waste gate network by the elimination of the manifold pressure Vernier networks and the manifold pressure selecting networks, except for the fixed portion of secondary 282. Considering the circuit between the input terminals 2I'4 and 2I5 of the waste gate motor amplifier, a circuit may be traced from the input terminal 2I4, through conductor 242, the follow-up and overspeed network 28I,conductors 5I5 and 503, the military power calibrator network 239a, conductor 504, pressure controller network I48, conductor 505, switch blade I64,

contact I66, conductors 520 and 52I, the portion of the secondary between taps 283 and 284 and back to the ground connection 2I6 through slider 281 and switch 280 as previously traced.

Thus, by the provision of the military power switch I64, and the circuit connections associated therewith, the power during take-off is determined entirely by the throttle except for the overspeed controller 240, the cruise calibrator potentiometer 263, and the military calibrator potentiometer 246. The military power calibrator is, however, relatively inaccessible and is normally not available for easy adjustment by the pilot. The crusie calibrator potentiometer only controls the position of the throttle which under these conditions is wide open regardless of how the cruise calibrator potentiometer is set. The overspeed potentiometer is operated only when an overspeed condition exists and is necessary. Thus, the power supplied by the engine within this range is'subject to rather close control by the throttle lever 5|. It is being assumed in connection with the description of the operation under these conditions that the slider 281 is not in engagement with the resistor 28I, or, in other words, is not moving into the emergency range. If the slider is so moved, the manifold pressure is,- of course, further increased in accordance'with the position of slider 281.

After the take-off, the throttle lever is slightly retarded so as to reduce the propeller speed. At take-off, the propeller speed may, for example, be 2500 R. P. M. After take-off, this speed is reduced to 2300 R. P. M., for example. This movement of the throttle 5I will bring it to what may be called the rated power position and will cause sufllcient counterclockwise rotation of cam I82 to allow switch blade I64 to return to contact I65 thus restoring control of the manifold pressure selector and the manifold pressure verniers. The pilot may, if desired at this time, adjust the manifold pressure to a value which he feels is more satisfactory for climbing. Such adjustments may be necessary to overcome instrument variations and other variations in the aircraft equipment.

When the airplane has reached the, desired altitude, the throttle lever 5I is retarded to an intermediate position within the cruising range. Under these conditions, it is desirable that the slider 218 be in approximately the position shown for maximum fuel economy. The position to which the shaft 58 andthe throttle crank arm 80 are manually moved is an intermediate position, under these conditions. At any appreciable altitude, however, in order to maintain the pressure demanded by the pressure responsive controller 52 under these conditions, the throttle motor 53 will have been affected to drive the throttle to wide open position and, in all likelihood, the waste gate motor 200 will have been affected to drive the waste gate partly to closed position. The further movement of the throttle motor is possible because of the lost motion provided by the slot I03. With the roller IIiI advanced to a position to which it begins to move away from the horn I05, the throttle motor is capable of moving the throttle to wide open position without any change in the position of the crank arm 65. It is to be understood that with slider 218 in the\position shown, the throttle motor is always effective to open the throttle further than it is moved directly by crank arm 65.

As the aircraft changes in altitude during cruising conditions, the waste gate and throttles will be adjusted to maintain the desired manlfold pressure despite the varying density of the air. In this connection, the feature of bellows I39 is of importance. In any system of a followup type such as that employed by applicant in connection with both the waste gate and throttle motors, it is necessary in order to get a change in the position of the controlled device for there maintain the controlling condition at the exact desired value. The only way to change the control device to take care of the change in load is for the controlling condition to change itself. Thus, applied to the present case, the only way in which it is possible ,to obtain settings of the throttle and waste gate to produce higher manifold pressures is for the pressure to drop. As the atmospheric pressure decreases with higher altitudes, an increasing drop in manifold pressure thus tends to result. This is referred to as the droop" of the system. A certain amount of droop is not undesirable since with an increase in altitude it is possible to drop the manifold pressure slightly and still obtain the same power. This is due to a decrease in the exhaust back pressure. An excessive droop is, however, undesirable. The bellows I39 tends to avoid such an excessive droop. As the atmospheric pressure decreases, the force opposing the upward movement of bellows I36 is decreased, just as though the manifold pressure itself decreased. Consequently, for a given manifold pressure, the position of slider I45 is changed in the direction to increase the manifold pressure. Thus, as the atmospheric pressure decreases, the setting of the system is'raised for any given manifold pressure. The size of bellows I39 is so selected that when the lever 5| is set to its extreme right hand position to maintain military or take-off power, the bellows I39 will provide just enough compensation to obtain the desired amount of droop and constant power. At all setting of the throttle lever 5I, the bellows I39 aids in reducing the droop.

When it is desired to land, the manifold pressure selector or slider 218 may be moved downwardly into the range in which a lower manifold pressure is maintained. This permits the throttle to be manually controlled without being affected appreciably by the throttle motor 53. The pilot normally considers it desirable to have complete manual control of the throttle during the landing. If it happens that the plane is going to overshoot or undershoot the field so that it is necessary to take-01f, the movement of the selector slider 218 to a low manifold pressure position does not present any hazard because of the military power switch I64. As soon as the pilot finds it necessary to take off again and moves the throttle lever 5| to the military power posi tion, switch blade I64 is moved into engagement with contact I66 to give full power independently of the setting of the manifold pressure selector or the manifold pressure Vernier as previously explained. Thus, full power is immediately available for take-oh.

By retarding the manifold pressure selector under landing conditions, it is assured that the manifold pressure will be sufficiently low that the propeller blades will be maintained at their minimum pitch position due to the slow speed at which the engine is tending to rotate the propellers. This gives the maximum braking effect from the propellers. Furthermore, if it becomes necessary to take off again so that the' throttle lever is moved to the maximum power position at which the propeller governor is set to maintain the blades in their minimum pitch position, no change in the setting of the propeller blades is necessary. If the propeller blades were in some intermediate pitch position during the landing and it became necessary to take ofi',there would be an appreciable delay required for the blades to change to their minimum pitch position such as is desirable for take-oil. By maintaining the manifold pressure sufficiently low to keep the blades in their minimum pitch position, this is avoided.

In the above operation, the operation of the adjusting mechanism of the pressure responsive control has been only briefly discussed. The particular arrangement of the means of adjusting springs I32 and I33 has certain unique advantages. As the springs I32 and I33 are rotated to a position in which the springs are more nearly vertical, not only is the tension exerted by springs I32 and I33 on the stem I35 increased but the effective spring rate of these springs, as far as the stem I35 is concerned, is also increased. In other words, with the springs in the position shown, not only do the springs exert less force upon the stem I35 but the amount of force required to move the stem I35 through a predetermined distance is considerably less. Both the force requiredto movethe stem at all and the force required to move it through a predetermined distance increase as the springs are rotated towards a vertical position. As a result, when the springs are in the position shown, a very small change in manifold pressure will make an appreciable change in the position of slider I35. when on the other hand, the springs are in a nearly vertical position, the force required to move the stem I35 through a predetermined distance is much greater. This is important because when the throttle lever is in the advanced range of positions, the amount of movement of the waste gate necessary to effect a change in the compressing effect of the compressor available is relatively small because of increased volume of exhaust gases blowing in the exhaust conduit. In order to maintain this power at any appreciable altitude, the throttle is wide open and the waste gate is probably partially closed. Thus, the only adjustment available to take care of an increased need for superchanging is a small movement of the waste gate necessary to completely close the same. When the throttle lever is in the retarded position such as shown, however, the available range of control includes the movement of the throttle from substantially full closed position to open position and the movement of the waste gate from open position to full closed position. Unless a control is very sensitive under these conditions, a very substantial droop will occur. In other words, as the plane ascends with an increasing demand for supercharging, a greater and greater drop in manifold pressure is necessary to effect the necessary adjustment of the waste gate. By reason of the arrangement in which the control is highly sensitive at the low power settings of the throttle, only a slight changein manifold pressure results in a large movement of the control devices suflicient to take care of a wide range of altitude variation.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a system in which the sensitivity is varied in accordance with the necessary range of adjustment toreduce the droop toa minimum.

Calibration of the system It is desirable to maintain a predetermined relationship :between thepropeller speed and the manifold pressure, regardless of the position of the throttle lever 5|. Due to individual variations in the engines and various factors associated with the planes, it is possible to only ap-.

proximately establish these relations without calibrating the controls for the particular engine and particular flight conditions. If merely one calibrator were provided, it would be possible to maintain the desired relationship at one setting of the throttle lever but this desired relationship would not necessarily hold for other settings of the throttle lever. I have, accordingly, provided an arrangement by which the calibration may separately be made for several different positions of the throttle lever ll.

Let us consider first the calibration of the control when the lever 5| is in its most advanced position, that is its military power position. Under these conditions, the switch I 33 is effective to disconnect networks 23Ia, 243, and 243. The cruise calibrating potentiometer 253 is connected in series with the throttle motor, but since the throttle motor under military power conditions is in throttle-open position, the setting of this calibrator has no effect upon the manifold pressure at military power. Thus, by moving the slider 243 of the military calibrating potentiometer 238, the manifold pressure atmilitary power may be set with the assurance that regardless of what may be done to the other controls, this manifold pressure can always be expected when the throttle lever is moved to the military power position.

Considering next the conditions encountered whenthe lever 51 is between the military power slider 214, any desired manifold pressure may be obtained.

This manifold pressure affects the position of both the throttle and the waste gate and hence affects the manifold pressure obtained under all conditions except military power, under which condition the potentiometer 212 is rendered inefiective.

. The conditions for cruising at low altitudes may be adjusted by an adjustment of the crusie calibrator potentiometer 233. By moving the slider 251 with respect to resistor 266, the opening of the throttle relative to the opening of the waste gate -may be adjusted. This adjustment affects the manifold pressure only when the conditions are such that the,- throttle is not completely open. This condition does not normally exist under rated power conditions such as discussed in the previous paragraph. The condition does, however, exist during cruising conditions at relatively low altitudes. Thus, by the adjustment of slider 261,

it is possible to adjust the manifold pressure Operation in the event of failure of networks or power supply,

Provision is made with my apparatus, for preventing injury to the aircraft engine if either the apparatus itself or the electrical powen supply fails.

Considering first a failure of the apparatus, if the slider 93' fails to make proper contact with resistors 99 or I00 or if any of the other elements fail in the various networks of the compound network of amplifier I13 so as to open .the network circuit traced earlier, an auxiliary network circuit is efi'ective to control the input voltage to amplifier I18. This extends from the un grounded terminal I8I through conductors I84 and I93, resistor I92, secondary winding I88, re-

- sistor I95 and ground connections I91 and I83 to the grounded input terminal 82. The effect of this circuit is to cause the input terminal IBI to become positive with respect to the input terminal I82 and hence to cause the throttle motor to be driven towards throttle open position. Since the rebalance shown has no effect upon the operation of this circuit, the motor will move to wide open position and remain there until the network again becomes operative. It is desirable, that if the throttle was to remain in any position that it remain in throttle open position rather than throttle closed position. The presence of resistor I 95 does not normally affect the operation of the compound network since it has such a high impedance as to have very little shunting effect.

Thus, the resistor is effective only in the event of a network failure to cause the motor to be driven towards open position.

Similar means can be provided in connection with the waste gate motor amplifier '2 II to insure that the waste gate motor is run to waste gate open position in the event of a power failure. Since such means is old, it has not been shown in the present application.

Since my apparatus is electrically operated, provision must be made for safe operation in the event of a complete power failure. It will of course be appreciated from the foregoing operation that the throttle is at all times under manual control so that movement of the throttle lever i to the idle position causes closure of the throttle. While there is no convenient means for manually controllingthe waste gate, provision is made in the apparatus for opening the waste gate in the event of abnormal pressures developing. Whenever the pressure in conduit 28 on the discharge side of the compressor 26 rises to the setting of the relief valve 231, pressure is admitted to the air turbine 238 to cause rotation of rotor ZIII in a direction to cause movement of the waste gate towards open position. The final portion of this movement is resisted by the biased stop arm 224. As soon as the pressure condition returns to normal, the biased stop arm 224 is effective to rotate the gear train and rotor back to a position in which the waste gate 20 is partiall closed. Not only is this position suflicient to supply air for normal operation but it results in the waste gate .beingunbalanced sufllciently that the exhallst gas impinging against the same tends to drive the waste gate to an even more closed position. Thus, the waste gate gradually moves back to closed position until such time that the pressure in conduit '28 again builds up to the setting of the relief valve 231. Thus, the waste gate is automatically adjusted in position even in the event of 'a power failure so as to maintain the pressure as high as possible without exceeding the predetermined maximum safe value. This operation is described more fully in the co-pending Crum application for Pressure control anparatus, filed March 29, 1946.

It will thus be seen that provision is made for safe operation of the engine even though various components of the control system fail or if the power supply itself fails.

Operation of engine checking features It will be recalled that in the previous description of the operation, mention was made of certain checking features with a statement that these would be referred to in a later portion of the specification. Before taking off, it is normally customary to vary the propeller governor setting to check the operation of the propeller overnor. It is also customary to advance the throttle to wide open position without operation of the supercharger to check the condition of the engine and to advance the throttle partly to check the magnetos. In order .to carry out these steps, the slider 218 is first moved down with respect to resistance 211 to a low manifold pressure setting. Under these conditions the throttle motor is not energized during :the normal range of movement of lever 5| before the militar ower switch I64 is actuated. The throttle levers 5I are then adjusted to a partially open position, for example, approximately one-third of the way towards throttle open position. If the magnetos are not functioning, the propeller speed Will be reduced or the engine will be relatively uneven in its operation. By moving the manifold pressure slider down to its lowermost position and maintaining the throttle levers only partly open, it is assured that the manifold pressure will be sufflciently low that the propellers will be in their low pitch position. Thus, the propeller governors cannot function to correct for improper functioning of the magnetos. Furthermore, it is assured that the turbo supercharger will not be operative to correct any malfunctioning of the engine. The propeller check switch 255a is then operated so as to move switch blade 256 into engagement with contacts 259 and 260. The effect of this is to disconnect from the throttle motor amplifier I18 all of the networks described with the exception of the follow-up network I98 and the portion of secondary 264 between tap 269 and the upper terminal thereof, a connection being established from follow-up network I98, through conductor 5III'I, tap 269, the upper portion of secondary 264, conductor 525, contact 260, switch blade 256, contact 259 and ground connections 53!) and I83 to the grounded terminal I82 of amplifier I18. The eiTect of this is to cause conductor 500, during the half cycle considered throughout the specification, to be highly positive with respect to ground. The amount of this voltage is such that the throttle motor 53 is run to wide open position. The throttle levers 5I can then be retarded to a point where roller III is positioned in cam slot III! adjacent the point a, that is, the point at which the propeller speed is the lowest. The switch 255a is now released so as to return the throttle motor towards a closed position (the manifold pressure selector slider 218 still being at a low manifold pressure setting), and the :throttle returns to the position determined by the setting of the throttle lever 5|, a nearly closed position. This requires the propeller governor to change the pitch of the blades, if the speed is to be maintained at the setting of the throttle lever 5|. the propeller does not remain relatively constant, the process should be repeated several times until :the propeller governor mechanism has had a chance to become warmed up. It will thus be seen that there is provided means for checking the propeller governor by moving the throttle automatically to open position and then after a change in setting of the propeller governor to move the throttle to nearly closed position.

The propeller governor test can also be made V to maintain the low speed for which the propeller governor isset.

In order to check the condition of the engine, the throttle is normally advanced manually to a full open position. It is desirable to check the operation of the engine when the propeller pitch is lowest, when the throttle is open, and when the engine is receiving no assistance from the turbo supercharger. By maintaining slider 218 in its lowermost position during the ground test. it is assured that the manifold pressure setting will remain sufllciently low as not to call for movement of the waste gate from open position. Furthermore, the movement of the throttle lever to maximum power position to open the throttle adjusts the propeller governor to maintain the propeller in its low pitch position. However, due to the military power switch I84, advancement of the throttle lever to the maximum power position causes switch N54 to be moved to a position in which the manifold pressure selector network 243 is rendered ineffective. Thus, unless some additional means were provided, the power available under theseconditions would be full take-elf power. To prevent this, I provide the switch 290. The switch blade 2! thereof is normally in engagement with contact 282 in which position the slider 281 is connected to round at 295. Upon switch 29! being moved into engagement with contact 293, however, the lower ter minal of secondary 282 is connected to ground at 285 so as to lower the potential of the ungrounded terminals of the amplifiers by an amount corresponding to the voltage between the lower terminal of secondary 282 and tap 283. This voltage is so selected that the throttle motor is run to full closed position. Thus, despite the closure of the military power switch, the closure of the engine check switch during the check prevents the operation of the supercharger when the throttle lever 51 is moved to its maximum power position. Thus, a means of preflight checking engine condition without assistance of the turbo supercharger is provided.

It will be seen that'I have provided a novel electrical control system for engine control apparatus, by which a Wide range of flexibility is given to the apparatus. It will be apparent from the foregoing description that with my novel apparatus, it is possible to provide a wide range of adjustment without in any way interfering with the operation when maximum power is required. Furthermore, it will be seen that I have provided novel means for aiding in the checking of a propeller govern-or. It will also be apparent that I have provided valve positioning apparatus of the follow-up type in which the valve is adjusted so as to produce uniform change in flow for a given change in the controlling condition throughout the range of movement of the valve. It will fur.- ther be seen that I have provided in connection with the engine power control. apparatus a novel network means for controlling two motors from a common main controller.

In the foregoing description, the values of the various elements have been mentioned only in a few' instances. In general, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the use of elements having any particular values. Purely for illustration, however, in one particular suc- 30 cessfui installation, the following values were employed.

Resistances of resistors 88-700 ohms Nil-300 ohms 141-525 ohms l82-50,000 ohms I 8550.000 ohms 222-925 ohms 221-625 ohms 281-500 ohms 288-500 ohms 218-500 ohms 211-320 ohms 28 l--190 ohms Voltages of secondary windings (5.5 volts between tap 268 and upper terminal.) 213-26 volts 218-15 volts 282-19 volts (1.5 volts between tap 283 and upper end, 7.5 volts between taps 283 and 284, 10 volts between tap 284 and lower terminal.)

In the case of the propeller speeds, the cam 12 is designed in the position shown to set the propeller governor for a propeller speed of 1800 R. P. M. The setting when roller H is adjacent point a is approximately 1400 R. P. M. and the setting when the roller 1 H is at the opposite end of cam slot H0 is 2500 R. P. M. The pressure responsive control 52 and the control networks of which it forms a part were, in this typical installation, designed to maintain manifold pressures of from 8. inches to 46 inches of mercury, absolute.

As pointed out above, the values given immediately above are purely illustrative of what was employed in one particular system in connection with one particular type of aircraft. The invention is in no way limited to the use of such values. Furthermore, while I have shown a specific form of electrical network and engine control apparatus, it is to be understood that this also is for I illustrative purposes only and that the invention is to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In engine control apparatus for an engine having means for controlling the quantity of fuel supplied to said engine, a positioning member adapted to be connected to said fuel controlling means for variably positioning the latter, a motor connected to said positioning member for actuating the same, means for controlling said motor which comprises an impedance network including a plurality of electrically connected portions each including a source of voltage and at least one variable impedance connected across at least part-of said source and having a voltage output dependent upon the value of said variable impedance, a main, manually operated control member mechanically connected to a variable vimpedance in one of said portions for varying the voltage output thereof, an auxiliary controller connected to a second manually adjusted variable impedance in a second of said portions for varying the voltage output of said second portion, and means operative upon said main control member being moved to a position requiring a large amount of power to substitute in said network for said second variable impedance a fixed part of a third portion of said network so as to render said second variable impedance ineffective to vary the position of said motor.

2. In engine control apparatus for an engine having means for controlling the quantity of fuel supplied. to said engine, a positioning member adapted to be connected to said fuel controlling means for variably positioning the latter, a motor connected to said positioning member for actuating the same, an impedance network means including a plurality of electrically connected portions each including a source of voltage and at least one variable impedance connected across at least part of said source and having a voltage output dependent upon the value of said variable impedance, a main, manually operated control member mechanically connected to said positioning member and to a variable impedance in one of said portions for varying the voltage output thereof, an auxiliary controller connected to a second manually adjusted variable impedance in a second of said portions for varying the voltage output of said second portion, and means operative upon said main control member being moved to a position requiring a large amount of power to substitute in said network for said second variable impedance 2. fixed part of a third portion of said network so as to render said second variable impedance ineffective to vary the position of said motor.

3. In motor control apparatus, a motor to be controlled, means for controlling said motor which comprises an impedance network including a plurality of series connected portions each including a source of voltage and at least one variable impedance connected across at least part of said source and having a voltage output dependent upon the value of said variable impedance, a main, manually operated control member mechanically connected to a variable impedance in one of said portions for varying the voltage output thereof, an auxiliary controller connected to a second manually adjusted variable impedance in a second of said portions for varying the voltage output of said second portion, and means operative upon said main control member being moved to a predetermined position to substitute in said network for said second variable impedance a fixed part of a third portion of said network so as to render said second variable impedance ineffective to vary the position of said motor.

4. In engine control apparatus for use with an engine having a throttle, a throttle positioning member, a motor for actuating said throttle positioning member, a main controller adapted-to respond to a condition aifected by said throttle, a follow-up controller positioned in accordance with the movement of said throttle positionin member, normally balanced means including said condition responsive controller and said follow-up controller for controlling said motor, said followup controller exerting a decreasing effect with respect to said condition responsive controller as said throttle positioning member is moved to open position so that for a uniform change in the value of said controlling condition, said throttle is moved an increasing amount as it approaches throttle open position.

5. In a condition control system, means including a valve for varying the value of a condition, a motor for positioning said valve, a main controller responsive to said condition, a followup controller positioned in accordance with the movement of said valve. normally balanced means including said condition responsive controller and said follow-up controller for controlling said motor, said follow-up controller exerting a decreasing efiect with respect to said condition responsive controller as said valve is moved to open position so that for a uniform change in the value of said controlling condition, said valve is moved an increasing amount as it approaches valve open position.

6. In a condition control system, means including a butterfly valve for varying the value of a condition, a motor for positioning said butterfly valve, a main controller responsive to said condition, a follow-up controller positioned in accordance with the movement of said butterfly valve, normally balanced means including said r condition responsive controller and said followup controller for controlling said motor, said follow-up controller exerting a decreasing effect with respect to said condition responsive controller as said butterfly valve 'is moved to open position so that for a uniform change in the value of said controlling condition, said butterfly valve is moved an increasing amount as it approaches valve open position, to compensate for the decreasing effect of said valve on flow as it is moved towards open position.

7. In a condition control system, means including a valve for varying the value of a con dition, an electric motor for positioning said valve, a main variable impedance controller responsive to said condition, a follow-up variable impedance controller adjusted in accordance with the movement of said valve, a normally balanced impedance network including said condi tion responsive variable impedance controller and said follow-up variable impedance controller for controlling the energization of said motor in accordance with the unbalance voltage of said network, said follow-up controller exerting a de creasing effect on the unbalance voltage with respect to said condition responsive controller as said valve is moved to open position so that for a uniform change in the value of said controlling condition, said valve is moved an increasing amount as it approaches valve open position.

8. In combination, a valve, an electric motor for positioning said valve and a follow-up balanceable impedance network for controlling the energization of said motor, said impedance network comprising a controlling voltage dividing network and a follow-up voltage dividing net work, each having a movable adjustable element, said controlling voltage dividing network having a terminal voltage which varies linearly with a change in the position of the adjustable element, and said follow-up network having an output terminal at the junction of two variable impedances which vary inversely at different rates as the adjusting element associated therewith is moved so that the output voltage varies non-linearly with respect to such movement, said adjusting element of said follow-up network being connected to said valve to be movable therewith, and said follow-up network being connected into said impedance network so as to have a dearea-r91 said fuel for controlling said motor means, first means for adjusting said condition responsive means, a main manually operated control member connected to said first adjusting means and movable through a range in which low power is normally obtained, a second range in which medium power is normally obtained, and a third range in which high power is normally obtained, a second adjusting means for said condition responsive means which is efiective to adjust the control point of the condition responsive means at any position of said manually operated control, third adjusting means for adjusting the control point of said condition responsive means, means operated by said manual control for rendering said third adjusting means ineffective when said manual control is in said third range in which high power is normally obtained, and fourth adjusting means associated with said condition responsive means, said fourth adjusting means normally having no effect upon said condition responsive means when the power exceeds a low value.

10. In combination with an aircraft engine connected in driving relation with a propeller, a governor controlling the speed of said propeller and having means for adjusting the same to vary the speed maintained by said' propeller, means for supplying fuel to said engine, means for controlling the quantity of fuel supplied to said engine, motor means for positioning said last named means, means responsive to a condition of said fuel for controlling said motor means, first means for adjusting said condition responsive means, a main manually operated control member connected to said propeller governor adjusting means and said first adjusting means and movable through a range in which low power .is normally obtained, a second range in which medium power is normally obtained, and a third range in which high power is normally obtained, a second adjusting means for said condition responsive means which is effective to adjust the controlpoint of the condition responsive means at any position of said manually operated control to vary the quantity of said fuel with relation to propeller speed, third adjusting means for adjusting the control point of said condition responsive means also to vary the quantity of fuel with relation to propeller speed, means operated by said manual control for rendering said third adjusting means ineffective when said manual control is in said third range in which high power is normally obtained, and fourth adjusting means associated with said condition responsive means to vary the quantity of fuel with relation to propeller speed, said fourth adjusting means normally having no effect upon said condition responsive means when the power exceeds a low value.

11. In combination with an engine having means for supplying fuel thereto and means for controlling the quantity and pressure of fuel supplied to said engine, motor means for positioning said last named means, a plurality of series connected networks controlling the operation of said motor means, means responsive to a condition of said fuel for adjusting one of said networks to vary the operation of said motor means in accordance with the value of said condition, means for adjusting the control point of said condition responsive means, a main manually operated -control member connected ,to said adjustingmeans and movable through a range in which low power is normally obtained, a second range in which medium power is normally obtained, and a third range in which high power is normally obtained, means for adjusting a second of said networks which is eifective to vary the operation of said motor means at any position of said 'tion of said motor means, means operated by said manual control for disconnecting said third network from said series of networks when said manual control is in said third range in which high power is normally obtained, and means for adjusting a fourth of said networks also to vary/ the operation of said motor means, said fourth network normally having no effect upon said motor means when the power exceeds a low value.

12. In engine control apparatus for an aircraft engine having means for controlling the quantity of fuel supplied to said engine and driving a propeller having a propeller governor with adjustable means for controlling the speed of said propeller, a propeller adjusting member adapted to be connected to the adjusting means of such a propeller governor, a positioning member adapted to be connected to such a fuel controlling means for variably positioning the latter, a motor connected to said positioning member for actuating the same, an impedance network means controlling said motor and including a plurality of electrically connected portions each including a source of voltage and at least one variable impedance connected across at least part of said source and having a voltage output dependent upon the value of said variable impedance, a main, manually operated control member mechanically connected to said propeller adjusting member and to a variable impedance in one of said portions for varying the'voltage output thereof to adjust said motor to move said positioning member, an auxiliary controller connected to a second manually adjusted variable impedance in a second of said portions for varying the voltage output of said second portion to cause said motor to move said positioning member independently of said main control member, and meansoperative upon said main control member being moved to a position requiring a large amount of power to substitute in said network for said second variable impedance a fixed part of a third portion of said network so as to render said second variable impedance ineffective to vary the position of said motor.-

,13. In engine control apparatus for an engine having means for controlling the quantity of fuel supplied to said engine, a positioning member adapted to be connected tov said fuel controlling means for variably positioning the latter, a motor connected to said positioning member for actuating the same, a resistance network including a plurality of electrically connected portions each including a source of voltage and at least one potentiometer connected across at least part of said source and having a voltage output depend- 35 ent upon the setting of said potentiometer, a main control member connected to a potentiometer of one of said portions for varying the voltage output thereof, auxiliary means for adjusting a potentiometer in a second of said portions ior varying the output of said second portion, said auxiliary means being also connected to a potentiometer oi a third or said portions and being operative when moved into an abnormal range to adjust said third potentiometer, and means operative upon said main control member being moved to a position requiring a large amount of power to substitute in said network for said second portion a fixed part of said third portion oi said network so as to render said second potentiometer ineflective to vary the position of said motor.

14. In combination with an aircraft engine connected in driving relation with a variable pitch propeller, means for supplying fuel to said engine, a throttle for controlling the amount of fuel supplied to the engine, a speed responsive govemor for controlling the pitch of the proelectric motor tor-also positioning said throttle. a balanceable impedance network means including an impedance adapted to respond to a condition aflecting engine. operation for controlling said motor, means also positioned by said manually controlled member for adjusting the control point 01 said network means to vary the position 01! said throttles and test switching means for connecting a fixed voltage of a predetermined value into said impedance network means to alter the operation of said network means to cause said throttle to be driven to open position without any change in the position of said manually controlled member was to determine whether said propeller governor is properly operative.

- ALEX B. CHUDYK.

nnrnnrmcns crrnn UNITED STATE PATENTS 

